It may take a few minutes to get used to the rating system — there are no tidy stars or thumbs pointing upward. But the guidebooks are a handy, low tech tool for navigating the Bay Area’s vast restaurant universe.

The 2010 San Francisco Bay Area guide, released today, includes many familiar names, and a few funny quirks.

Topping the list in the East Bay with 28 out of 30 points each: Chez Panisse and Erna’s Elderberry, a prestigious California-French restaurant whose inclusion on the list redefines the term “East of San Francisco.” It’s on the outskirts of Yosemite.

The South Bay list includes Menlo Park’s Kaygetsu (28), Los Gatos’ Manresa (27) and San Jose’s Le Papillon (27) and La Foret (26). Also with 26 points: Palo Alto’s Evvia and Tamarine, Woodside’s Village Pub and Saratoga’s Sent Sovi.

The rest of the reviews are presented in alphabetical order, with reviewers’ remarks cited in an entertaining excess of quotation-marked detail. So much so, we were tempted to do a dramatic reading with finger quotes when we read the description for Half Moon Bay’s Sam’s Chowder House:

Jackie Burrell is the editor and senior writer for the Mercury News and East Bay Times' Eat Drink Play section, which explores the West Coast's food, wine, cocktail and travel scene each week. An award-winning writer, Burrell joined the Bay Area News Group staff in 2000.

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